Chapter 11 Nyako – Pampered
NYAKO – PAMPERED
Ididn’t know where it came from or even how it came.
I just knew that the next morning, I woke up with my body in pain as if I had been hit by a Mack truck.
I immediately recalled my pre-dawn activities and blamed it on that until I noticed my throat was sore, and my body was not only aching but also shivering.
Navy had laid it on me, and he had been rough and aggressive, but not to the point of giving me what I suspected was a fever. I trembled and pulled the covers further up my body before I fell asleep again.
The next time I peered from underneath the covers, the sun was on full blast, showing his ass.
I looked at the clock and saw that it was a little after one in the afternoon.
How had I managed to sleep that long? I threw the covers back and tried to get up but only succeeded in flopping back on the pillow.
I felt like shit. I rolled over and pulled the pillow over my head as I pressed my face into the mattress. It was that moment when I heard the faint knocking at the door. Although it sounded like it was off in the distance, it also sounded extremely close, like it was banging in my head.
I pulled the covers around me to ward off the chill creeping up my body, pressed the pillow tighter around my head, and squeezed my eyes shut. I just wanted it to go away, everything: the noise, the aches, the sun, my emotions, my skin, my fingernails. All of it. I wanted it to cease.
But the pounding on the door continued. I finally lifted the pillow, choked out a cough, and muttered something that I thought sounded like “go away,” but it couldn’t have, because the door opened.
“Nyako?”
The snare drums playing in my head made it impossible to speak. I winced when Navy sat on the side of the bed, causing it to dip a little.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I didn’t say anything. Tears squeezed from my eyes because everything hurt, and I felt too weak to lift my head, let alone to speak.
“Nyako, if it’s about last night, and you’re having reservations, maybe we can talk about it or work through it. I’m sorry if you felt pressured, or . . . or for breaking the vow, or anything that makes you uncomfortable. If you don’t want to stay here with me any longer, I get that too.”
A violent cough racked my body, forcing me to lift away from the mattress. He grabbed the pillow from my head and tried to help me sit up. Frowning, he jumped slightly before he pressed the back of his hand against my forehead.
“Nyako, you’re burning up with fever. Are you sick?”
I looked at him and felt the tears running down my face. My breathing was labored, but I managed to squeak out, “I’ll be fine.”
“No, you won’t. You need to go to the doctor.”
“I hate doctors. I’m not going.” I turned my head just in time to sneeze several times but managed to avoid getting it on him.
“You need to go, Nyako. You can’t just sit here and suffer.”
“I’ll order some soup and crackers, and green, ginger, lemon, and echinacea teas. I’ll be fine.”
“Let me take care of ordering what needs to be ordered. Okay?”
I nodded and sat up, trying to swing my legs over the side of the bed.
“Where are you going?”
“Tissue,” I replied through sniffles.
“Stay there.”
He jumped up and headed into my bathroom. When he returned, he had an entire roll of tissue. I was too sick to argue or care that it was toilet tissue. As if he could read my mind, he stated, “Don’t worry. I’ll get you some facial tissues. Get you some rest.”
He left my room, and I turned over and went back to sleep.
I had wakened several times over the course of the day. Navy had fed me chicken noodle soup and crackers, but mostly focused on keeping me hydrated with teas, broth, juices, and water. Every time I woke up, he was right there waiting to serve my needs.
I had to use the bathroom a few times, and he helped me out of bed.
I kicked him out of the bathroom the first couple of times, because I was self-conscious about peeing in front of him.
The fact that I didn’t feel extremely clean, thanks to sweating, staying in bed all day, and not having a shower or bath, didn’t help.
As I grew weaker, I eventually had to rely on him in the bathroom and out.
The next time that I woke up, not only had the sun gone down, but it felt like nighttime. I felt his presence more than I heard him. My eyes fluttered open. My body still ached, and I was drenched in sweat.
“Hey, you’re awake.” He pushed up out of the armchair on the other side of the room.
“What time is it?” I asked, coughing. I pressed a hand against my chest to alleviate the pain that occurred whenever I coughed.
“A little after seven. I’ve got something really good for you.”
“You’ve been here all day?”
“Yep, and you must be tuned in to everything that I’m doing. I just stepped in your room not even five minutes ago, and you’re awake after sleeping for a few hours.”
I watched as he moved across the room and grabbed the serving tray that he had been using all day whenever he fed me.
“You don’t have to stay in here with me, you know. I’m sure there are other things you’d rather be doing than attending to me on my sickbed.”
He chuckled. “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than making sure my favorite supermodel gets nursed back to health.”
“Don’t feel so super right now, and definitely not looking like model material.”
“To me, you’re always model worthy, beautiful,” he countered, setting the tray on the bed over me.
Immediately, I detected there was a difference in the food I’d been eating all day versus what he placed before me now. “What’s this?” I asked, removing the cover from the bowl.
“It’s my mother’s vegetable soup. It’s got a bit of a spicy kick, but she says that this is good for you. It’ll help clear your nasal passages, and while you don’t have much of an appetite, she says it’s a good sensory experience.”
“You told your mama about me?”
“Hell yeah. She adores you. She’s always been a fan.”
I eyed the soup carefully and then looked back at him.
He chuckled. “Don’t do my mama like that. She ain’t about to do shit to harm nobody.”
I sipped the soup, and my eyes widened. I took another sip from the spoon and eagerly began consuming more. It felt like the soup was giving my appetite back to me. “This is good.”
“Told you. She’s the real deal; she ain’t no joke.”
Halfway through the meal, I started coughing again.
“Here, drink this. She made this for you too.” He handed me a glass jar of brownish-orange liquid.
“What’s this?”
“Her homemade cough syrup. It’s got red onions, cloves, lemon, cinnamon, turmeric, honey, and a few other ingredients.”
I wrinkled my nose, but when another coughing fit assaulted me, I quickly unscrewed the top off the jar and drank some of the potion. It was an acquired taste, but it did wonders for my cough, immediately stopping it and soothing my throat.
I finished eating and drinking the power drink he provided for me.
“I’m going to take a bath. I can’t take this funky feeling anymore.”
“How about a shower instead? It won’t take as long, and the steam will be good for clearing your nasal passages. Besides, it’ll help you sweat some more and get that sickness out of you.”
“You’re right,” I stated, sitting up and easing out of the bed. As usual, Navy was right there helping me. He lifted me and carried me into the bathroom, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a fresh washcloth, towel, and my robe were already laid out for me.
“Sit right here,” he instructed, setting me on a bench beside the shower.
I sat down and watched as he moved to the shower and started it. He adjusted the temperature and then prepared my bath products. When I stood up to go into the shower, he undressed me.
“I can do it.”
Navy pulled back and stared into my eyes. “Let me take care of you, Nyako.”
“But I’m sick.”
“Which is why you should let me. It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before.”
“But I stink.”
“I’ll forgive you for it,” he stated with a wink and a smirk.
I let him remove my orange T-shirt and panties before he helped me into the shower. I stood under the stinging but refreshing needles of the hot water and watched him undress. He stepped inside with me.
“What’re you doing?”
“Washing you, baby. I can’t do that with my clothes on.”
I wanted to argue, but the little I had done had already tired me out, so I remained still while he washed my body a couple of times before he carried me out of the shower, wrapped me in a large plush towel, and carried me to the bedroom.
Other than the way he lavished me with light and love, the way he kept calling me “baby” made me feel adored and treasured.
Navy toweled my body off, oiled me up, and put another T-shirt and panties on me before he tucked me in bed. He laid the robe beside the bed and patted it. “In case you want to get up and move around through the night.”
“Why are you doing all this, Navy? You’ve been by my side supporting me all day.”
“Because your stubborn ass was too stubborn to call your family to do anything, and when I suggested it, you almost cursed me out. Then you had that whole coughing fit; I thought I might help you get better rather than worse. If you really want to know the truth, I’d have to say it’s because I kinda like you, Nyako Bellacorte. ”
A small smile curved my lips as my gaze met his. “I think I like you, too, Navy Prather.”